Flour-bin.



PATENTED JAN. 24, 1905.`

' R. CLARKE.

FLOUR BIN. K

APPLIoATIoN FILED un. 31,1904.

I om

W1 TNESSES.-

UNITED STATES Patented January 24, 1905.

ROBERT CLARKE, OF MOUNT VERNON, OH-IO.

FLouR-elm.Y f

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 780,988, dated'danuarytZ, `1905.

Application ned Mmhfal, 1901i. serial Nol 201,602.

To @ZZ whom tm/wy concern:

Be it known that I, RoBERTvCLARKE, Mount Vernon, in the county'of Knox and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin llour-Binsgand` I hereby declare that the following isafulhclear, and exact description thereof, reference being ing of the bin with less labor and less waste of material.

To this end the invention comprises a bin hinged near its lower end or attached to a support hinged at its lower end to the wall or other upright part of the building so that said bin can be swung or lowered to a substantially horizontal position, its top cover removed, and the material slipped therein endwise, the top replaced, and the bin swung back to vertical position.

The invention further includes novel means whereby the Hour or material can be placed in the bin in the original packages, for which purpose 1 provide a bag-distender consisting of a cylinder adapted to be placed in the mouth of the bag before itis inserted in the bin and which will prevent closure of the mouth of the bag when inverted by the return of the bin to vertical position.

The foregoing features of the invention and other subsidiary features thereof will be eX- plained in detail in the following description of the hin illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the bin, showing it in working upright position in full lines and in lowered position in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section through the bin. Eig. 3 is a detail showing the mode of inserting the distender in a bag.

The bin is preferably made in the shape of a cylinder A, having a conical lower end ci terminating in a reduced cylindrical neck B, to which is attached a sifter C, that telescopes therewith and is retained on the neck by the upper inwardly-bent ends OZ of a bail-shaped wire D, said ends projecting through corresponding apertures in the walls of the neck and sifter and can be disengaged therefrom when it is desired to remove the sifter. A removable cup E is fitted over the lower end of the neck B and closes the lower end of the v'binwhen in place.

The bin A, as shown, is secured to a board or support F in any suitable manner, and said board E is secured by a hinge f at its. lower endto a plate or bracket G, which may be securely attached to the wall W. The support and bin may be held in a vertical position by means'ofasuitable catch. As shown, aspringcatch g is attached to a plate G', Asecured to the wall, andpasses around the upper portion of bin, and thus retains the bin in vertical position. By` disengaging the catch the bin may be lowered,l with the support, to the position indicated in dotted lines in Figi, in which positionthe bin can be upheld by any suitable means provided for that purpose. As shown,

The upper end'of the bin is closed by' ,a cover A'. Y

the bin is provided with a leg or rest H,

hinged or pivoted at its upper end to the front upper part of the bin, said leg lying flat against the bin when thelatter is in raised position and swings out, maintaining a vertical position below the bin as the latteris lowered, so as to rest upon the floor or, as shown, upon a table below the bin, thus supporting the outer end of the bin at an angle while in its lowered position and during the filling thereof, if desired` While in thislowered position,

the bin is filled by removing its cover A. i

The bin shown is especially designed for ilour, and to enable bags of Hour to be bodily inserted therein without emptying the bags I provide a bag-distender consisting of a cylinder I, which is of less diameter than the bin and slightly less than the diameter of the ordinary sized bag of our which the bin is designed to hold. This cylinder is slipped into the opened mouth of the vbag of flour and pressed down therein (see F ig. 3) until its upper edge is about flush with lthe top edge of the bag. Then (the bin being in lowered position)-the bag and cylinder are slipped into the bin, the top A replaced, and the bin raised to vertical position, thus inverting the bag, so that its contents can escape into the lower part a of the bin. The sides of this bin A may be provided with radial ribs or flanges a to keep the lower end of the distender I from direct contact with the part a and leave a space therebetween throu gh which the flour between the walls of the distender and the bag can pass down. The distender I prevents the bagmouth doubling up or collapsing,so as to choke the bin.

Obviously the invention is not restricted to the particular forms and dimensions of parts shown in the drawings.

Myimproved binis simple, economical, and labor saving. ing the sacks into the bins nor the lifting of weighty sacks up to the top level of the bin when in its working position, and it therefore saves waste of material, time, and labor in refilling the bin.

Having thus described my invention, what I therefore claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent thereon, is-

1. In combination, a Hour-bin, hinged near its lower end, means for retaining the bin in vertical position when raised, and a gravital or swinging rest attached to the bin for upholding the outer or free end thereof when it is lowered to iilling position, substantially as described.

2. In combination, a support hinged to the wall at its lower` end, a bin or receptacle attached mouth downward to said support, and open at both ends, a sieve attached to the lower end of the bin and closures for the upper and lower ends of the bin; with means for fastening the bin and support in vertical It does not necessitate emptyposition when raised, and means for upholding the outer or free end of the bin when it is lowered to filling position, substantially as described.

3. In combination with a iiour-bin, having its lower end provided with internal radial ribs or iianges, and adapted to contain a sack of flour, of a distender adapted to be placed within the bag and together therewith inserted in the bin, said distender resting upon said flanges, substantially as described.

4L. The combination of a hinged iiour-bin, having its lower end provided with a. neck, and a closure therefor, and an open upper end provided with a cover, a catch adapted to hold the bin in vertical position, and a rest pivoted to the bin adapted to support its outer part when in filling position, substantially as described.

5. rIhe combination of a bin having a neck on its lower end, and a closure therefor, and an open upper end provided with a cover, a support for said bin, hinged at its lower end, spring-catches adapted to retain the bin and support in vertical position, and a leg or rest pivoted to the bin adapted to support the outer part of the bin when the latter is in lowered position, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBER'I` CLARKE.

In presence of- RoBnR'r CLARKE, Jr., ELLA C. LITTLE. 

